Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-06-23
KIN G.
Solomon S Mines,
CHAPTER XIV.
GOOD FALLS SICK.

! JOlltt tiielil- 1nel were DOCn utterly eX-
hail>ted By eXertion and loss of blood, and,
indeed, my ONn condition was little better.
| am yer, wiry. and can stand more fatigue
than most men, probably on account of my
light weight and long training; but that night
| was fairly done up and as is always the case
with me VIII exhausted, that o :, wound
the lion gave NE began to pain he. Also my
head was aching violently from the blow l
had received in the morning, when | was
knocked senSeleSS.
Somehow, with the assistance of the beau
tiful Foulata, who, SINCE we had been the
means of saving her life, had constituted
herself our handmaiden, and especially
Goods, we managed to get off the chain
shirts, which had certainly saved the lives of
two OF lis that day, when we found that the
flesh underneath was terribly bruised, for
though the steel links had prevented the
weapons from entering, they had not pre-
vented them from bruiSing. Both Sir Hen
ry and Good were mass Of bruises, and |
was by no means free. AS a remedy FOula-
ia brought us some pounded green leaves,
with an aromatic odOr, which, when applied
as plaster, gave us considerable relief.
But though the bruises were painful, the7
did not give us such an anxiety as Sir Hen
rvs and Goods wounds. Good had hole
right through the tieshy part of his ''beauti-
full white Leg" from which he had lost a
great deal of blood; and Sir Henry had a
deep cut over the jaw, inflicted by Twala's
battle-ax. Luckily Good was a very decent
surgeon, and as soon as his small box of
medicine was forthcoming, he, having
thoroughly ceanSed the wounds, managed
to stitch up first Sir Henry'S and then his
own pretty satisfactorily, considering the
imperfect light given by the primitive Kuku
ana lamp in the hut. Afterward he plenti-
fully Smeared til w ndS with some anti
septic ointment, of which there was q pot in
the little box, and we covered them with the
remains of Observation-Disclosures which we
possessed.
Meanwhile Foulata had prepared us some
strong broth, for we were too weary to eat.
This we swallowed, and then threw our
selves down on the piles of magnificent ka-
rosses, or fur-rugS, which were scattered
about the dead kings hut. BY very strange
instance Of the irony of fate, it was on Twa-
las own couch, and wrapped in TWala's
own particular karoSs, that Sir Henry, the
man who had slain him, slept that night.
About eight o'clock next morning we had
a visit from InfadoOs, who seemed but little
the worSe-tough old warrior that he was
for his exertions on the previous day, though
he informed us he had been up al night.
He was delighted to see us, though much
grieved at Goods condition, and shook
hands cordially; but [ noticed that he adj
dressed Sir Henry with q kind of reverence,
as though he were something more than
man; and indeed, as we afterward found
out, the great Englishman was looked upon
throughout Kuknanaland as a supernatural
being. No man, the soldiers said, could
have fought as he fought, or could, at the
end of day CT such toll and bloodshed,
have slain Twala, who. in addition to being
the king, was supposed to be the strongest
warrior in Kukuanaland, in single combat,
steering through his bull neck at a stroke.
Indeed, that stroke became proverbial in
Newfoundland, and any extraordinary blow
or feat of strength was thenceforth known
as Incubus blow
Infadoos told us also that all Twala's re-
giments had submitted to Ignosi, and that
like submissions were beginning to arrive
from chiefs in the country. Twala's death
at the hands of Sir Henry had put an end
to all further chance Of disturbance; for
Scragga mad been his only son, and there
was no rival claimant left alive.
Afterward in the course of the morning,
we had visit from Ignosi, on whose brows
the royal diadem was now bound. AS | con-
templated him advancing with kingly dgni-
ty, an obSequious guard following his steps,
l could not help recalling to my mind the
tall Zulu who had presented himself to us at
Durham some few months back asking 10 be
taken INTO our service, and reflected Oil the
strange revolutions of the wheel of fortune.
Hail, o king!' said, rising.
'Yes, MacumaZahn. King at last, by the
grace of your three right hands," was the
ready answer.
All was, he said, going on well; and he
hoped to arrange great feast in two weeks
time in order to show himself to the people.
| asked him what he had settled to do
with Glgool,
''She is the evil genius of the land" he
answered, land | shall kill her, and all the
witch doctors with her! She has lived so
long that none can remember when she was
not old, and always she it is vino has trained
the witch-hunters, and made the land evil in
the sight of the heavens above"
yet she knows much" | replied lit is
easier to destroy knowledge, IgnoSi, than to
gather it."
1T Is So" he said, thoughtfully ''She,
and she only knows the secret OF the Three
Witches yonder whittier the great road
runs, where the kings are buried, and the
Silent ones Sit.''
Yes, and the diamonds are. Don't forget
your promise, Ignosi; you must lead us to
the mines, even ifyou have to spare GagooPs
LIE to show the way"
L will not forget Macumazahn, and
VIII think on what thou SayeSt."
After Ignosi's visit | went to see Good,
and found him quite delirious. The fever
from his wound seemed to have taken firm
hold of his system, and to be complicatedb by
all internal injury. For four or five days his
condition was most CRITICAL indeed, firmly
believe that had it not been for FOulata'S in
defatigable nursing he must have died.
Women are women, all the world over,
whatever their color. Yet somehow it
seemed curious to watch this dusky beauty
bending night and day over the fevered
mans couch. and performing all the merci-
ful errands of the sick-room as swiftly,
gently, and with as fine an instinct as
trained hospital nurse. For the first night or
two tried to help her, and so did Sir Henry
as soon as his stiffness allowed him to move,
but she bore our interference with impa-